Fieldcrest rallies past Titans

Knights head into HOIC tourney with win

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By Marc Edwards

Pontiac Daily Leader - Pontiac, IL

By Marc Edwards

Posted Jan. 18, 2014 at 12:46 AM

By Marc Edwards

Posted Jan. 18, 2014 at 12:46 AM

El Paso

Fieldcrest and host El Paso-Gridley were looking to gain some momentum heading into the McLean County Tournament. It was the Knights who got it as they prevailed 58-41 win over the Titans in a Heart of Illinois Conference tilt Friday night.

The momentum Fieldcrest may have generated for tonight’s opening-round game with Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley in Colfax may have started in the second period against EPG.

The Knights used outside shooting by Drew Barth to fight their way back from a 13-9 deficit in the second quarter. The Titans could only muster eight points in the stanza, while Fieldcrest countered with 13, including seven by Barth in the quarter to take a one point lead, at 22-21, by the intermission.

“I think it might be our youth, we come out of the gate we’re a little slow, we have to feel our opponent a little bit,” FHS head coach Matt Winkler said. “We don’t have a senior on the team, the kids are playing hard and that’s all I can ask for them.”

The intense play continued in the second half for Fieldcrest. Communication on the court propelled the Knights to take a 36-28 lead after three quarters.

A pivotal point in the quarter was a technical foul called on the Titans’ Jake Hoselton for hanging on the rim after missing a dunk. Barth sank both free throws and, after Grant Jochums inbounded the ball on the ensuing possession, Barth hit a running layup.

“We changed some things around at half and increased our intensity,” Winkler said. “We jump switched a heck of a lot better than the first half.

“I thought our communication was better in the second half, we hit some shots and that makes any coach look good.”

Things were not so good for El Paso-Gridley after a good start.

“It was a game of two halves,” EPG head coach Nathaniel Meiss said. “Fieldcrest came out ready to play in the second half and they got a little bit of a gap and then took care of the ball.”

The Titans came out with a vengeance in the first quarter as Tyler Ramsey ignited the offense by scoring nine points en route to a 13-9 first quarter lead.

The second half was a complete opposite for the Titans. Meiss thought his team rushed some shots and the Knights were dominant on the rebounding aspect of the game.

“We have a group of guys who play really and Fieldcrest did a good job of making us rush thing, their pressure cause us to rush some things,” Meiss said.

Page 2 of 2 - “I thought we did a good job in the first half, but when you miss a lot of shots, there’s a lot of defensive rebounds available. They (Fieldcrest) did a good job of holding us to one shot in the second half and that contributed to the rebounding advantage.”

The Knights put the game away in the fourth quarter connecting on 12 of 16 free throws. Winkler said the adjustments in the second half were huge.

“We made some shots and free throws and really limited them defensively, holding them to 40 points is really good,” Winkler said.

The Knights (8-7, 2-2) were led in scoring by Barth with a game-high 17 and Jochums chipped in 10. Jackson Puetz and Ryan Barth chipped in 9 points apiece.

The Titans (7-8, 4-2) got 16 points from Ramsey and 10 from Tyler Augsburger. EPG shot just 29 percent from the field on 13 of 45 shooting.